Return to Work: The 5 Biggest Challenges and How to Fix Them

Spoiler alert: If returning to the office feels like a waste of time to your employees, your return-to-work strategy might need a makeover.

Here’s what the National Workplace Trends Study revealed about the top challenges facing return-to-office transitions and the proven ways to fix them, without the fluffy team-building meetings and pizza parties.

1. Trust in Leadership Has Taken a Hit

The Stat: 57% of employees say distrust in leadership makes them consider leaving their jobs. And let’s face it, nobody wants to return to a culture of micromanagement or unclear direction.

The Fix: Leaders need to become visible, vulnerable, and values-driven. Coach people up when necessary. And listen to their challenges and solutions. When employees trust leadership, they show up with more energy and less eye-rolling.

Success Tip:  Train leaders on how to give feedback and recognize contributions. 36% of employees say that alone would convince them to stay longer.

2. ‘Burnout’ is Being Glamorized as ‘Grit’

The stat: A whopping 74% of workers believe work is more stressful than it was ten years ago, and Gen Z is practically burnt out by breakfast. Return-to-work shouldn't feel like a burnout trap; it should recharge and re-energize your staff.

The Fix: Normalize boundaries. Reinforce expectations around unplugging after hours, and reevaluate workloads to avoid the back-from-vacation avalanche.

Success Tip:  Provide training programs to help leaders and teams spot burnout early. Proactive support reduces turnover and keeps energy high.

3. Hybrid Confusion Causes Culture Erosion

The Challenge: Employees are split between home and office, and culture often gets lost in translation. Remote teams feel disconnected, while in-person workers are left wondering, “What are we even doing here?”

The Fix: Rebuild your culture around purpose, not presence. According to the National Workplace Trends Study, 80% of employees say having a sense of purpose is essential to job satisfaction. Hybrid models need hybrid culture strategies that bring everyone in, regardless of location.

Success Tip:  Anchor your hybrid policies in your company’s mission and reinforce them during onboarding, team meetings, and performance reviews.

4. Career Growth Feels Foggy

The Stat: Employees want to know there’s a ladder leading to their next level. Without clear paths forward, 42% of Gen Z workers plan to find new jobs within the year.

The Fix: Host 1-1 career-pathing conversations. Create defined growth paths, identify skill gaps, set specific milestones, and provide coaching along the way. Invest in their learning and development.

Success Tip:  81% of employees say companies that prioritize L&D are more attractive, and it makes them want to stick around longer.

5. Employees Don’t Feel a Sense of Team

The Stat: 80% of employees say that a sense of team and belonging is crucial for staying at a company. The problem is, hybrid or remote environments promote working in silos. 

The Fix: Bring people into the office for 2 main reasons… culture alignment and team building. (No, not just the fluffy team games.) Be strategic in fostering real collaboration.

Success Tip:  Host weekly/monthly ‘Collaborate and Innovate Sessions’. Ask staff to bring their biggest challenges with them, and then break them into groups to brainstorm ideas together. 

Return-to-Work Checklist:

To become a Destination Workplace™, where people apply, engage, contribute, promote—and stay, you need proven strategies:

• Clarify the “Why” Behind the “Where”
  Reframe the return-to-office narrative around collaboration, culture, and growth.

• Elevate Leadership Standards
  Coach managers to lead with integrity, feedback, and accountability.

• Create a Workplace Culture Infused With Purpose
  Connect employees to a bigger mission that they can believe in.

• Customize Career Paths
  Not everyone’s journey looks the same. Host individual conversations and adjust each career path accordingly.

• Foster Team Collaboration
  Bring them to the office for a reason… to collaborate, innovate and succeed together.
  
  

If you're serious about attracting, engaging, and retaining top talent, now’s the time to transform your company into a Destination Workplace™; not just a building employees return to, but one they run to.

Need help turning your workplace into one employees actually want to return to?

Let’s build a culture so magnetic, your team won’t just show up—they’ll want to stay.

📍 Visit DestinationWorkplace.com and let’s make your office comeback actually work.

Creating a winning company culture takes effort, but it's well worth it, and company culture happens to be our area of expertise. We help you become a Destination Workplace™ so you can attract and retain the best talent in this hyper-competitive marketplace. Contact us to learn about our leadership development, culture development, corporate wellness programs, and more!

👉Download the National Workplace Trends Study

About Betsy: Featured on FOX, CBS, NBC, and ABC, Betsy Allen-Manning is a leadership keynote speaker, workplace culture expert, and best-selling author who helps executives and HR leaders strengthen employee engagement, improve retention, and prepare for the future of work. Betsy’s thought leadership and original research in the National Workplace Trends Study and the Destination Workplace™ framework equips organizations with data-driven strategies to build cultures where people apply, engage, contribute, and stay. She is also the founder of an award-winning company known for providing top leadership training in Dallas, and is recognized for advancing leadership excellence and driving workplace culture transformations worldwide.